Washington, D.C., a member of the International Vision Zero movement, committed itself to end traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2024 through the implementation of engineering, education, and enforcement strategies. …
In this article for The Poynter Institute, Al Tompkins underscores the importance of journalists covering local jails and suggests several coverage angles that journalists can use to convince readers to care more about incarceration at the local level.
California’s use of private debt collection companies for criminal justice fines and fees debt disproportionately impacts communities of color and perpetuates a cycle of poverty. The California Reinvestment Coalition reviewed …
This report presents the findings from a visit to the United States by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty, Philip Alston. He evaluated government programs and policies aimed to address extreme poverty according to the United States' human rights obligations.
This report provides a brief history on the disproportionate rise of women’s incarceration in the US and in Oklahoma before explaining four kinds of barriers that prevent mothers from returning to normalcy after they come into contact with the system, with a particular focus on fines and fees.
The National Council of Juvenile Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) passed a resolution advocating for the reduction or elimination of fines and fees in juvenile courts. The resolution was published alongside a judicial bench card that outlines types of financial obligations that youth and families may encounter in juvenile and family court, details the impacts of those obligations, and explains how judges can address fines and fees in their own courtrooms. The bench card includes several practice recommendations for juvenile and family court judges.
Filing for bankruptcy to avoid car impoundments and or a boot that immobilizes their vehicle has become a popular “remedy” for Chicago drivers who can’t afford to pay off debt from traffic tickets, parking violations, and vehicle compliance infractions.
In this report, the Chicago Jobs Council describes how suspending a person’s driver’s license for unpaid fines and fees can prevent them from ever paying off their debt and destabilize their finances.
This article, part of the Vera Institute’s In Our Backyard Stories series, documents the incarceration practices in the small upstate city of Amsterdam, New York.